


Winter's Embrace

by Watch_Me_Fly



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:14:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25684114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Watch_Me_Fly/pseuds/Watch_Me_Fly
Summary: When a State Alchemist is assigned to Fort Briggs, many are suspicious, including Major Miles. Apparently the higher ups in central don't think that they can handle the rising Drachman threat of war. This Alchemist, however, is different than the rest. With her blindfolded eyes and her strange use of Alchemy she is sure to catch the attention of many people in and out of the fort. Will she and Miles be able to find common ground or will the cold of the mountains keep either from finding love?
Relationships: Buccaneer/Reader (platonic), Miles (Fullmetal Alchemist)/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	Winter's Embrace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The_Littlest_Raindrop](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Littlest_Raindrop/gifts).



> This may seem Mary Sue but if I didn't write it down it would have never gotten out of my head. You inspired me @The_littlest_Raindrop

The cold, that is something she could never get used to. It burrowed it’s way into her very skin and made it almost impossible to tolerate. She clutched her new uniform tighter against her chest as a breeze tried to wiggle its way under her layers of clothing. The fluffy white collar did a little to protect her neck from the cold but her face and head were left vulnerable to the vicious winds of the northern mountains. Her eyes, carefully guarded underneath a bandanna were flicking back and forth uselessly. She did not rely on her eyes to see in this place, anyway, the snow would have done a nice enough job to blind her anyway. The wind was pulling up the dry snow and creating large clouds of pure white that would have made anybody else useless in this situation.

The caravan of sniveling privates stopped and she paused to listen. Of the four others in her group, she was the most silent. She didn’t need to make noises to display her discomfort and any bears in the area would be made very aware of their position. These were all Privates that she was in charge of leading up here. The storm that was passing over was just now starting to break up but it seemed like there was going to be a larger storm right behind it.

She slowed her breathing and concentrated on what was around her. The four others were bunched together, huddled for warmth, the snow was falling faster now, any harder and they risked the chance of being lost in the mountains. She could hear the sound of an owl flying overhead, presumably on its way out on an evening hunt. She listened closely and she could hear the sound of a few squirrels hopping from branch to branch in the forest a few feet from them. A bear was scratching at a tree about 500 meters away and…

She jumped forward about three feet to avoid the large auto mail arm that suddenly revved behind her. The cadets shrieked and pulled out various weapons, crying out various phrases, such as “Bear!” “Shoot it!” and “I don’t wanna die!”

The soldier stood her ground and knew it was no bear but captain Buccaneer, the man she was sent up here to meet.

“Captain! It’s nice to see you still have your spark of eccentricity.” She called over the howling wind. Buccaneer turned and looked over to the woman who had called out to him. A loud laugh filled the air and a large hand clasped her shoulder.

“It’s nice to see you again my friend! If I had known it was going to be you leading these sniffling babies up here, I would have done something more impressive than just make noise!” He chuckled. The babies in question were still huddled together with their guns half out and some looking ready to piss themselves.

The woman smiled at the man and stuck her hand out for a proper introduction but the Captain decided a full body hug would be more appropriate. He wrapped his arms around the woman and actually lifted her up off of the ground with the strength of his embrace. 

\------

Buccaneer was excited to greet the new recruits, it wasn’t often that Armstrong or Miles didn’t come with him, but with the increased threat from Drachma, neither of them could be spared to come with him.

As he snuck through the snow, as quiet as he could, he found the cadets making their way to the fort, being led by a woman he couldn’t make great details of. He watched as she clutched the jacket around her tighter as the wind picked up a bit. The fort and the mountains made a somewhat windy area and the snow was making it a bit hard to see. Perfect.

Buccaneer smirked as he got right behind the woman and was about to make his auto mail scream with power, when she just jumped away...impossible! There was only one person who could do that and it was…

He heard the cadets scream in the background as he focused on the woman. Her hair whipped in the wind and a smile was placed on her face. A bandanna covered her eyes and Buccaneer instantly knew who this was!

He wrapped her in his arms and squeezed her tight, but...it wasn’t the same as before...she seemed to be..tougher. Made of metal almost.

He set her down without question and patted her shoulder fondly. It had been years since he had spoken with his friend, when he was a cadet himself.

“I suppose your Ice Queen will be expecting us there soon?” A voice called over the wind, breaking his stupor. He looked down at the cadets who were still whimpering but had their guns and weaponry put away once they realized he was NOT a bear.

“Yes my dear blindfolded friend. Listen up cadets! If you expect to make it here at Fort Briggs, you need to be tough. Our enemy is not soft and neither can you be! Here you will be made into perfect soldiers and before winter is done, you will be tough enough to fight a grizzly bear in hand to hand combat and win!” He called to the young soldiers.

\---

Miles was sitting in his office with the files of all the new recruits coming to the fort. They were going to be hard to place, as they all were fresh from training in West City. He looked at all the smaller fuels on his desk, the new recruits.

Name: Ferand Norcro  
Birth: July 8th 1880, South City  
Training city: West City Headquarters  
Rank: Private  
Description: A sound soldier but a little too jumpy when in combat. Very good at field medicine.  
Favored Position: Medic

Name: Evara Marek  
Birth: May 10th 1883, North City  
Training City: West City Headquarters  
Rank: Private  
Description: Rather fanatic about weaponry, however, this girl could take a tank apart and put it back together again.  
Favored Position: Weapons Expert

Name: Isabelle Berat  
Birth: November 19th 1887, Liore  
Training City: West City Headquarters  
Rank: Private  
Description: A pretty woman, very used to talking her way out of any situation.  
Favored Position: Interrogator

Name: Ericsson Iscare  
Birth: April 27th 1879, Central City  
Training City: West City Headquarters  
Rank: Private  
Description: Bright kid, knows what he’s talking about. Rather spend his time with machines   
Favored Position: Engineer

He put the files down and looked at the bright red folder on his desk. The largest of the batch and containing information on their latest officer. The people in central decided at the three of them, being Buccaneer, Armstrong and himself were not enough to quell a Drachman invasion on their own if one should occur so they decided to “Send some big guns,” up to help them in the case of an invasion. Miles didn’t agree with his decision but he honestly didn’t care. Having someone do paperwork with paperwork might be nice. It would certainly give him some free time, but with said free time, he had no use of. He didn’t have a girlfriend or anything. All he had was a cat that he found one day in town and snuck back to the fort.

Speaking of cats...His little one crawled into his lap and pawed at the front of his jacket. It was past her feeding time and she wanted to eat! Miles rubbed his little friend’s head and continued to read the large file in his hands.

The first thing he noticed was the picture. A woman with a black bandanna wrapped around her face was depicted on the paper. Odd, most military photos require eyes to be shown, why was this one different? He stood up and walked, with the file, over to his kitty’s bowl and proceeded to fill it with her food, he continued reading while doing these menial tasks.

Name: (Y/n) (L/n)  
Birth: (Birthday) 1885, Location Unknown  
Training City: Unknown  
Rank: Major/ State Alchemist  
Appointed:1900  
Description: A woman of mystery, (Y/n) was officially put into our records as a ten year old in the year 1895. She was found on a forgotten pass to Amestris from the desert alongside a young boy of Ishvalan origin, both were bloodied and malnourished. After some extensive medical care (records in separate file), she was trained by [Redacted] and after a test, she was found to be gifted in Alchemy at a level not yet seen in a child her age. At age fifteen she was made a State Alchemist with the appointed name of [Redacted]. However, she was almost stripped of her title during the execution of order 3066 for her blatant refusal to fulfill her oath as a State Alchemist. She was assigned to clear the [Redacted] district of Ishval but her blatant refusal caused her to be court martialed and replaced by Alchemist [Redacted]. She was soon cleared after the investigation of [Redacted] incident caused by [Redacted]revealed that she was [Redacted]. After these events, she was reassigned to serve in Eastern Command after a young boy attempted to resurrect his mother using Alchemy.

She is considered a very capable alchemist, focusing on the world around her; she can use almost anything, including alloys and chemical mixtures to complete her transmutations. Something that makes her very useful is her lack of use of Transmutation circles. She revealed to us that this is because [Redacted]. By using her to our advantage, she will be a great resource to anybody who is her superior, if they can control her fiery temper and deeply imbued morals. This is one of the many reasons we sent her up to Briggs because if anybody can control her, it’s Major General Armstrong.

This file was very confusing for Miles because many of the important details were redacted, even though he was at a high enough ranking that all files were complete for him to read. It didn’t look like the file had been tampered with so he assumed that this was the whole thing. He would have to ask Armstrong about the file later, but right now, he was supposed to go down to the base level of the fort to introduce the new recruits to the fort and meet his new companion. 

Armstrong had told him that she will be spending much time with him, learning what her position will be in the fort and in general filling her in on the situation with Drachma. Apparently Buccaneer already knows her but…

Miles ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. Buc. hadn’t told him that his old buddy was a State Alchemist! Nor had her told her that she was kinda scary! He looked back at her picture and took in her limited appearance. Her eyes were obscured by the blindfold but her (H/T) *stands for hair texture* (H/C) hair was (style) in the picture and she looked very official, or she would have without the smirk adorning her face. She looked like she was holding something back from the photographer and she liked keeping her secret. He then put the original file down on his desk and began looking for the medical file that the report had mentioned. He found the files for the other cadets but not for the woman in question.

Frustrated, Hungry and tired Miles put his goggles on and left his room to go introduce himself to the cadets, and this strange State Alchemist that he didn’t think that they needed in Briggs.

His cat sat happily, munching on her food and when she was done, curled up on the desk, pushing the file of the woman on the floor, her smirk looking up at the ceiling.

\----

Buccaneer led the small group to the entrance of the fort, a well guarded doorway that they could fit through, single file if they squeezed close together. The four privates made idle conversation as the captain and State Alchemist caught up.

“Yeah..and after that I got this baby!” he finished up his story by revving his arm again, almost loud enough to scare the privates. The woman chuckled and rolled her shoulders to get warmth back in them again.

“That’s a very touching story Buc. I’ve gotta tell you some of mine when we get the chance. When am I going to meet this ‘Ice Queen’ of yours?” She asked while fiddling with a ring she wore. The ring in question was a single silver band. Simple in design and a little rough around the edges, a single phrase was written in a language that Buccaneer couldn't quite read.

Before he could ask about the ring he was interrupted by a door opening to their left. The pair saluted their major as he walked in the room. Although she couldn't see, the alchemist knew who this was. Major Miles, a kind man of Ishvalan descent. She didn’t have to look at him to know he was Ishvalan, something about the energy in the room told her who he was. She had heard people from Xing calling it “The Dragon’s Pulse” or something like that but she honestly didn’t know what it was that allowed her to discern things like that in the world. All she knew is that she could use it to see and that was a good thing.

“Welcome to Fort Briggs soldiers! Here you will be stationed according to skill, as well as learn about our enemy Drachma. Now, I will call out your name and you will present yourself to me. Starting with...Private Norcro!”

A young man stood forward, a little on the short side with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He seemed determined but Miles couldn't help but take note of the kid’s legs shaking ever so slightly. This must have been the medic that he read about.

“You’re to be taught by the fort’s doctor. She will teach you how to treat issues that arise here in the fort like frostbite or bear wounds. You are dismissed!”

The boy was escorted out of the room and into the depths of the fort where he would be taught by the lovely lady who treated many of the soldiers’ wounds.

“Private Marek!”

“Private Berat!”

And so on until the only remaining newcomer in the room was the State Alchemist and Miles could have sworn the room dropped a few degrees in temperature. Her eyes, even if he couldn't see them, were staring right at him. He felt like she could see right through him! Did she know he was part Ishvalan? That couldn't be possible! But...they were of the same rank, even if she WAS a State Alchemist and didn’t climb the ranks like he did.

Before his brain could continue rambling on like a speeding train, she began to walk towards him. Her lips curved into a gentle smile and, against his will, his heart sped up a bit. It was a beautiful smile.

Her footsteps echoed through the dead silent room as the other soldiers were waiting for a reaction. They all knew that miles had Ishvalan blood running through his veins but there is no way that this woman could. When she was standing not two feet away from her new companion, she stuck her hand out for a shake.

“My name is (Y/n) (L/n), State Alchemist. It’s going to be a pleasure working with you. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hoped you liked it! I didn't know how long to make it so I felt about 2,600 words would work. Let me know if they should be longer or shorter!   
> :)


End file.
